Forbes Riley has been on a quest to get fit & healthy most of her life - as an overweight actress it was hard being constantly ridiculed - her pain, struggles and triumphs have become her mission to helps others. An inductee into the National Fitness Hall of Fame, creator of the SpinGym, a co-host to Jack LaLanne and a working mother of twins - Forbes has a lot to write about and share with her audience -- She is candid, funny, open and honest -- and its all here!

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I try to update this blog as often as I can so you'll enjoy coming back and maybe even bookmarking it! There's fun industry photos as I take you into the world of tv, film, infomercials and even live home shopping. I'll share the latest products on the market to help inspire and motivate you to lead a fit, healthy lifestyle - and for more about me, please visit www.forbesriley.com

Since actor Brad Pitt founded the non-profit Make It Right in 2007 to build low-cost, sustainable homes for New Orleans' Hurricane Katrina victims, green building has exploded nationwide. On Friday, two builders are announcing plans to offer affordable homes designed to produce as much energy as they use -- one of which is a stylish modern prefab to benefit Pitt's charity.

California-based LivingHomes, a developer of high-end, ultra-green, factory-built homes, is debuting its lowest-cost model ever -- the C6 -- that will be available in most states. The 1,232 square-foot. $179,000 prefab, which is about half the size of the average new U.S. home, has three bedrooms and two baths as well as a courtyard that blends indoor and outdoor living. Part of the proceeds from each home's sale will be donated to Make It Right.

"This is by far the most energy-efficient home we've built," says LivingHomes' CEO Steve Glenn, noting it's designed to earn the top or platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council. He says it's also the easiest and fastest one to build, since it's fully constructed by Cavco -- a manufactured housing company with factories nationwide -- in less than two months and installed on-site in one day.

Also late this week, Scottsdale-based Shea Homes, the developer of Trilogy resort communities and a builder in eight states, is announcing the launch of its "no-electric bill" home aimed at the age 55-plus, Baby Boomer set. The "SheaXero" will combine energy efficiency with solar panels to produce all the power the house is expected to need.

Other production builders have also debuted affordable, zero-energy homes as green building appears to be gaining market share in a still sluggish housing industry. Green homes, which comprised 17% of new residential construction last year, are expected to increase to 29% to 38% of the market by 2016, according to a report last week by McGraw-Hill Construction, a part of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

By value, the McGraw Hill report said this growth equates to a five-fold increase -- $17 billion in 2011 to $87-$114 billion in 2016. It attributes the hike to consumers' interest in "higher quality" and lower utility bills as well as the decreasing costs of building green -- down from an extra 11% in 2006 to 7% today.

At LivingHomes, Steve Glenn says the new C6 is "less than half the costs of our lowest cost home." He says his company has learned from its own experience and from its partnerships with both Cavco and Make It Right on how to get the most bang for the buck.

The model's average price of $179,000 does not include the solar panels needed to make the homes zero-energy nor does it include the costs of transportation, assembly, permitting and site preparation. Those items could add another $50,000. Land is also not included.

Glenn says the homes are not only energy-efficient but also sustainable because they use Cradle-to-Cradle inspired products such as cork flooring and natural wood millwork.

"Many of the products are available at The Home Depot," Glenn said, citing their affordability and accessibility should replacements be needed.

The C6 was inspired by the modern homes built by developer Joe Eichler throughout California in the 1950s and 1960s that were organized around a courtyard accessed through multiple sliding glass doors. It has floor-to-ceiling glass, clerestory windows, light tubes and transom windows, as well as a lighting control system accessible from an iPhone.

Glenn says there are much cheaper prefab homes available, but they're not nearly as stylish.

"We're targeting people who really value design and sustainability," Glenn says, adding his customers are likely to shop at Whole Foods, drive a Toyota Prius and practice yoga.

Two C6 show homes, sponsored by The Home Depot, are now on display in California. One appears Feb. 18 to Feb. 25 at the Long Beach Performing Arts Center, which is the site of the upcoming TED 2012 Conference, and the other as part of Modernism Week in Palm Springs from Feb. 17 to Feb. 26.

Friday, February 10, 2012

What an amazing journey to launch your own product, do all the research, creation, invest your heart and sole. We continue to grow our company and help so many people along the way. I have women crying to me about much that had hated their arms and now are proud to take off their sweaters, jackets and wraps. Everyone is always amazed at how quickly they feel it working - and I love the comment - "This SpinGym is CRAZY" -- you really do have to try it to believe it and to understand why I am so head over heels about it....

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

I was sitting on a plane from Tampa to LA the other day next to a mom who was really trying to get family to eat healthy and then subject of milk came up -- afterall, how bad could it be, we were all raised drinking it and what ELSE do you put on cereal or in your coffee.

Cow's milk is an unhealthy fluid from diseased animals that contains a wide range of dangerous and disease-causing substances that have a cumulative negative effect on all who consume it and is basically there to help a baby calf grow into a 2000 pound cow!

Also cow's milk (regular and 'organic') has 59 active hormones, scores of allergens, fat and cholesterol.

Most cow's milk has measurable quantities of herbicides, pesticides, dioxins (up to 200 times the safe levels), up to 52 powerful antibiotics , blood, pus, feces, bacteria and viruses. (Cow's milk can have traces of anything the cow ate... including such things as radioactive fallout from nuke testing)

WHAT TO DO?? Make you own milk -- and make it from organic raw nuts --

nowadays you can buy Almond Milk in the store (yeah!!) but its more fun to make your own. There is nothing quite as delicious as freshly made, completely raw and live, and preservative-free nut milk made in your own blender. Also my blender of choice is the HealthMaster for its power

http://www.myhealthmaster.com/?gclid=COuezLCLxq0CFRRZhwodUB5NAw

It’s magical the first time you see the process of milk being made from nuts. You may not have time to make your own almond milk every week, once you get into the habit of remembering to throw almonds into a bowl of water overnight, you might just end up making it more often then you think.

You will need a nut bag or cheese cloth, easily available in a health food store.

Fresh Almond Milk Recipe

Keeps up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

4 cups raw almonds (soaked overnight)

5-8 cups of filtered water (feel free to use more or less, depending on how thick you like your milk)

Rinse the soaked almonds very well in a strainer. This helps remove the inhibitor enzymes on the outside of the nuts, and helps make them more easily digestible and less acidic.

Place the soaked almonds and the filtered water in a blender and blend on high until smooth.

Taking a nut milk bag or cheese cloth, pour the mixture through the cloth into a separate container.

Squeeze all the liquid out of the cloth with your hands, so you get all the milk out and discard all the nut pulp and nut fiber (or save for another recipe). If you are in a rush, pour the liquid through a fine strainer (though you won’t get every drop of milk out, the way you would with the cheese cloth.

Do a quick-rinse of the blender. To make a smoothie right away pour some of the strained almond milk back in the blender with some stevia to sweeten it, along with some vanilla extract and any other smoothie ingredients you are using. Store the rest in a container with a lid in the fridge.

Friday, January 6, 2012

Why we love it:Grapefruit is an excellent source of Vitamin C, which she says helps support the immune system and prevents the free radical damage that triggers inflammation.How to enjoy it:Add grapefruit sections to salads to add a nice sour kick, also recommends try adding the juicy citrus fruit to salsas or as a topping for plain yogurt.Need a sweet treat? Broil half a grapefruit for a healthy winter dessert - Simply broil with cinnamon and a drop of honey.

As we enter into the first weekend of this New Year, I am reminded it is also a Leap Year. My daughter this morning on the car ride to school was mentioning that her teacher was born on Leap Day and is now only 7 years old - technically - but she swore that her teacher was smarter than most 7 year olds! Ah, to be a kid - the wisdom, imagination and innocence. Sad that is must fade as we age. My quest has always been to hold to it and if not create new!

Hanging with the amazing and inspiring
Jack Lalanne - like sitting on Santa's lap
only I am asking for health & fitness

If you're reading this thank you - its an exciting adventure to think that people I don't know are talking the time to share my thoughts, dreams, hopes and some rambling nonsense that sometimes spews from my fingers onto this keyboard. I love that we have computers, ipads, ipods and smart phones. Although my smart phone is never as smart as it claims AND everytime I venture into the phone store - used to be AT&T now Verizon - it doesn't matter -- they promise so much more than deliver! And I should know, I host infomercials :) Actually that was said in jest as I work to make sure the products I create or represent are as good if not better than what we show - its always been my mission and so far, so good. Everyday I meet someone who has a Jack Lalanne Juicer and loves -- I am now working on a new juicing book -- love it. Interesting, this month will mark the first year of Jack's passing. What a legend. What a gift to have know him. See you tomorrow -- teaching a SpinGym master class this morning and need to get ready -- What are YOU doing today??

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

9 years ago you were probably wondering why Santa didnt make all the stops he needed to around the world - cause me and my twins sat on his lap and crushed his right thigh!~! Now you know!

Pregnant with 7 pounds twins at 39 1/2 weeks (and by the way, what a myth about pregnancy being 9 months -- do the math -- that almost 10 months -- which GUY lied to us :) This photo is actually a poloroid (so glad I got it) outside a Sunday Farmer's Market in Encino California. I had driven myself there -- yeah, how DID I fit behind the steering wheel - but I guess I needed some fresh veggies to juice - although it does look like I swallowed a whole watermelon!

3 days later, on Dec 4th 2002 I became a mom! Shake THAT like a poloroid picture :)

Okay, but back to detox -- the idea of cleansing the body of toxins -- its helpful to think of your digestive tract like the pipe drains in your house - and when they get clogged with hair, soap etc - its gets all backed up and then corroded -- so do you!

Sounds yucky -- it is. The first time I truly found out about cleansing was on my 40th birthday on a trip to OHI - not the romantic spot in Southern California - but the Optimum Health Institute - http://www.optimumhealth.org/ in San Diego.

Here's their mission

For over 30 years, OHI has helped over 150,000 people tap into their own restorative power to lead more balanced, healthy, and spirit-filled lives. At OHI, we stand behind our mission to serve by providing a:

Safe and sacred environment where rest, relaxation and rejuvenation can occur

Nurturing and supportive community that can help you thrive.

Practiced for many centuries around the world, detoxification is the process of cleansing the body to promote healing and longevity. To help your body cleanse and restore itself, OHI provides:

Wheatgrass juice to cleanse cells and purify blood

Enemas and wheatgrass implants to cleanse the colon

Gentle exercise to cleanse the lymphatic system

They are a bit heavy on the wheat grass but it really works. I also met some amazing people including Ben Vereen, Sister Sledge and Jenna Norwood -- more on Jenna and how I ended up in her film about raw in the next entry....

I tried something different this year and made my fitness/health/diet resolution on Dec 26th -- amazing!

I checked myself into the local health spa here called The Safety Harbor Health Spa - they claim to have healing spring water that flows in their jacuzzi -- now get this - their jacuzzi is designed that at one end you can stand up and have the water all the way up to your shoulders - heaven.

So I went shopping at the local health food store and bought some organic apples, grapefruits, kale, red beets, and water. Then I went through my vitamin cabinet (I have 100's of bottles!) and with a desire to clean out and start the new year fresh - threw most of them in a box along with my Montel Williams HealthMaster (sound like a blog plug but its true!) and headed north -- okay - it was a bit of a staycation as its only 30 minutes up the road - but when I checked (and got a killer room rate) in, I felt like I was away and there to only focus on health and detoxing to start the new off right -- if you're up for hearing more about my adventure leave a comment below -- but I will tell you January 1st came along and I felt like a million bucks -- definately a new tradition!